The Merry Past 



frivolous enough reading, which the serious historian 

 is somewhat prone to despise. 



Nevertheless, there is a good deal that is of interest 

 to be gleaned from the accounts of that robust 

 country life which is now so entirely a thing of the 

 past. Nor are the records of the hunting squires to 

 be despised — hardy, healthy, jolly men, none too 

 clever, perhaps, but as a class vastly superior to the 

 town-bred buck, whose main occupation in life was 

 to gamble, drink, and dally with the facile beauties, 

 many of whom loved not wisely but too well. Few 

 people then led a strenuous life, but it was more 

 natural than that which the vast majority leads to- 

 day. The Englishman thought he was the finest 

 fellow in the world, and as such, provided he had 

 means, did pretty much as he liked. In the eighteenth 

 century his salient characteristic was a love of pleasure 

 and of sport, combined with a tenacious determina- 

 tion to defend personal liberty as regards his amuse- 

 ments. 



The day of the faddist was not yet, and there was 

 little indulgence for Paul Prys, even when such 

 individuals had some appearance of being animated 

 by excellent motives. 



Personal liberty was highly prized by Englishmen, 

 every one of whom prided himself on a man's house 

 being his castle. 



One of the Georges, it is said, being out hunting 

 pursued the track of the game over a gentleman's 

 fence, into his enclosure or park, where he chanced 

 to be then walking. The gentleman at once accosted 



